Sophiris Bio slashes IPO price

Sophiris Bio on Thursday cut the expected price of its proposed U.S. IPO, while increasing the number of shares offered.

Sophiris cut the expected price from $13 a share to $5, while boosting the offering from 5 million to 13 million shares. The total amount to be raised remains $65 million. The company has its U.S. headquarters in La Jolla; it is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Sophiris, whose U.S. shares will trade under the ticker SPHS, already is listed on the Toronto exchange under the ticker SHS. Those shares closed Thursday at a U.S. price of about $9.85 per share. The price reflects a 1-for-52 reverse stock split, which the company enacted last week to boost the shares above the $1 minimum needed to list on Nasdaq.

Sophiris is clinically testing a drug called PRX302 for benign prostate hyperplasia, or enlarged prostate, a condition that can cause difficulty urinating. The condition becomes common as men age.